


Oh Look A Blue Butterfly

by DarkMage13



Series: A Movie But Make It Reylo [2]
Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Author has no chill when it comes to Kylo Ren, Belligerent Sexual Tension, Crack Treated Seriously, Emperor's New Groove AU, Everyone is a little bit over dramatic, F/M, Humor, Kylo is a dick and Rey doesn't tolerate his shit, Minor GingerRose, No Pregnancy, There are no llamas in this one, They still have the force and the forcebond, This plot is super silly and nonsensical, Yes this is a canonverse Emperor's New Groove AU, canonverse, idiots to lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:48:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23602585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkMage13/pseuds/DarkMage13
Summary: “Speak,” the prince said, not even looking at her in the eyes. “What is your business?”She bit her lip. “I am here to request transport back to Jakku.”The prince—Kylo Ren as he was called by all—scoffed. “You want a transport back to that—” He looked up from staring at the polished floor to finally see her. “…Place.”Or: Rey is a peasant with newly awakened Force powers and gets stuck escorting a punished Prince Kylo Ren back home. (Emperor's New Groove AU)
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Series: A Movie But Make It Reylo [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2055819
Comments: 18
Kudos: 22





	1. Perfect

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah I couldn't help myself after I watched The Emperor's New Groove for the first time in ages. No, there are no llama Rens running about in this one (but don't worry, Kylo still gets a very befitting punishment) This is also very silly and operates on everyone's intelligence levels being a little bit lower than usual, especially Snoke's.

The planet of Alderaan was wealthy and beautiful. No one went without a roof. No children went hungry. Everything was just right. Perfect. A beautiful planet with vibrancy and happy citizens.

There was just one problem, and it lied at the top of the food chain. The wealthiest, the strongest, the most powerful.

The prince of Alderaan was  _ feared _ .

As in, he was known for his temperament getting out of control at even the slightest inconveniences. He was rumored for destroying entire rooms out of raw rage with his fists alone, and that wasn’t even counting on his lightsaber. One particular event involved Force-choking one of his servants in front of an entire room of witnesses, and he didn’t even care. Or so the rumors said.

Disobeying or disagreeing with the prince was far beyond out of the question.

Rey steeled herself, keeping in mind this knowledge of the prince of Alderaan, as she approached his very lavish palace. It was just outside the main capital with its very polished black floors and fiery red walls.

The reason Rey was even braving the palace to see the prince of Alderaan was out of, well, desperation. She had been taken off her planet against her will—in her words—and was forced into a house on a different planet with no way to get back to Jakku. 

Jakku wasn’t the best place, far from it, but she had reasons to stay there. At least they got rid of Unkar Plutt. No complaints about removing the gang leader rationing the scavengers to pitiful near-starvation.

So she decided, after three days of agonizing deliberation, sleepless nights in a warm bed unknown to her body, to just gather her wits and march right up to the person in charge and demand for her right to return to Jakku.

Rey didn’t know if this was even more reckless than trying to haggle with Plutt.

Walking through the doors to the throne room, past guards in imposing black masks—members of the prince’s personal guard, the Knights of Ren—Rey was greeted by the sight of a man cloaked in black, leaning on his hand on the armrest of his hard-stone throne. 

Suddenly she was out of place in her scavenger rags in the wide polished room. Upon closer inspection, with each careful step she took, she noticed the man’s soft hair was tousled and curled to perfection. Of course, the prince would have great hair care. To his side was a ginger-haired man in an ironed black uniform looking rather weary of the person sitting next to him.

“Speak,” the prince said, not even looking at her in the eyes. “What is your business?”

She bit her lip. “I am here to request transport back to Jakku.”

The prince—Kylo Ren as he was called by all—scoffed. “You want a transport back to that—” He looked up from staring at the polished floor to finally see her. “—place.”

Progress. She tilted her head at his sudden change in demeanor. “Yes.”

“Why? A scavenger wants to go back to  _ that _ planet?” Kylo questioned as if it was the most ridiculous thing he’s ever heard—how dare she even entertain asking him that.

Her nostrils flared. “Yes, this  _ scavenger _ would like to go back.”

“Are you… ungrateful? You have shelter, food, no gang leader lording over you, and you want to reject all that to go back to a terrible desert.”

“So what if I am? I didn’t ask to be dragged off my planet against my will. So I ask you, Your  _ Highness _ ,” she said, trying hard not to snap at this arrogant snob of a prince. “Give me transport.”

“Why?” he asked her, his tone getting harsher and louder. He sat straighter on his throne.

For one reason or another, Rey decided to disregard the rumors about Kylo Ren’s temperament. Her blood surged with fire and her mind went blank as each word out of the Prince’s delicious-looking mouth drove her up the wall. 

“None of your business, Highness.”

His eyes widened. “Excuse me, I think I have a right to know why my subject is making demands in my throne room in my presence.”

Prince Kylo of Alderaan wasn’t just a walking bad temper, he was a total  _ asshole. _

“I will excuse you from having to know my reasons for wanting to leave,” Rey retorted.

Oh, that was a mistake.

Kylo stood up from his seat. His shoulders were very wide and trembled with anger. His eyes were very dark in the low lighting and if looks could kill, Rey would be dead on the spot.

She planted her feet. She was not about to be intimidated by his attitude or size.

“You, a lowly scavenger, have no right to deny me.” 

He lifted his hand up and Rey let out a yelp. She was jerked off her feet in mid-air and tugged over to Kylo. She was still kept at arm’s length from him, but she was close enough to see the smattering of moles across his pale skin. 

She swallowed, not out of fear, no, because  _ why _ did he have to be good looking? Why did all good looking gorgeous men, even the unconventionally attractive ones such as the prince of Alderaan, have to be huge assholes? It made it hard to concentrate on the fact she was being held up by the Force and that his temper was flaring up like fire.

“So?” Rey fired back, straining to regain usage of her arms.

“You know I can take whatever I want,” he said in a darker, lowered tone, tilting his head at her as if he was more curious than angry. 

The utter nerve of this arrogant, gorgeous man.

She gritted out her words. “I’m not giving you anything.”

“We’ll see.”

Rey had known that sensitives to the Force could pull mind tricks on others, and right now she really had no plans to be a victim to this. She felt herself push back and regain usage to her arms. She threw her hand up and shoved him back right into the throne.

Collapsing to her feet, she gawked at the display of power. Her breath shuttered. 

She was sensitive to the Force.

Rey, nobody scavenger from nowhere Jakku, was able to use the Force.

She was able to use the Force and used it against the prince of Alderaan.

She used it against the prince of Alderaan, known for his temper and general jerkass attitude.

Worse, she apparently hit him hard enough there was a bit of blood on his temple.

The man next to him pulled his blaster and clicked it, aimed to fire at her. “Guards! Arrest the scavenger!”

Kylo groaned as he sat up, staring at Rey in disbelief. 

“No… Escort her out, Hux.”

“Your Highness…”

“Just do it, Hux.”

Hux, obviously smart enough not to risk Kylo’s rage, lowered his blaster as the knights rushed in to drag Rey away.

Kylo leaned his head back on the throne as Rey went with limp limbs. Why wasn’t he arresting her? Why let her go?

“And your request, scavenger,” he muttered even though the room echoed his words too easily. “Is denied.”

Well, that could have gone much worse in her opinion.

She could have been torn in half by his lightsaber.

* * *

Freckles.

Stupid. Freckles.

The second he looked up to see a scavenger with three buns tied behind her head, dusty rags draped over her lithe body, and a smattering of  _ freckles _ across the apple of her cheeks, Kylo knew immediately he was not about to let this scavenger leave his planet.

Nope. None. Her freckles compelled him to keep her here.

So he decided to entertain the notion of even considering her ridiculous request; why would she, a lowly scavenger who had been handed a new life, want to go back to that hell hole of a desert? Though, he supposed, he did make it better to survive now that he cleaned out Plutt’s gang, but still.

Too bad this scavenger had a mouth on her. A pretty one, but a mouth all the same.

And she was defiant to a fault. It was irritating.

As Kylo sat there, limp on his throne with the scavenger getting dragged away by his knights, all he could think about was how she was strong enough to push him away and break his hold. He didn’t plan on hurting her; he didn’t even want to really prod her mind, but she left him with no choice in that matter. But clearly the ungrateful girl didn’t care and she used the Force.

She didn’t even  _ know _ she had the Force.

“Highness, I shall call the physician…”

Kylo raised his hand to halt Hux’s words. “No. I am fine.”

“Highness.”

“Hux,” he growled out, raising his hand to shove Hux aside with a flick of his wrist. “I will be in my chambers. Find out who that girl is.”

Standing up and flicking out his cape, Kylo stomped out of the throne room.

Her and her stupid, adorable, lovely freckles.

Yet there was something about her. Something tugging at his lonely soul. He needed time to process before facing the scavenger again. That was frustrating, to say the least.

His fingers twitched for his lightsaber but decided against it. He couldn’t even stay mad at her for very long. His gloved fingers reached up to his temple to touch the hint of blood on his open wound. He would deal with that later.

For now, he needed to vent his frustration via elegant forms of lettering.

And maybe sketch out a drawing of the scavenger’s lovely face.

* * *

Hux exhaled with exasperation. The prince was such an unreadable prick at times. Especially now. How much longer did he have to put up with this job?

Find out who the scavenger girl is. Easy. Dig through the archives, find her photo. Find her profile. Deliver it to His Royal Pain-in-the-Ass and all before dinner.

Hux made his way to the archive room and pawned off the task to Mitaka. “Search for a scavenger’s profile. From Jakku’s recent occupation. Between the age of eighteen and twenty-four. Brown hair, hazel eyes. Get to it before the prince cuts our heads off with his obnoxious lightsaber,” Hux ordered.

Mitaka, with trembling fingers, began searching on the computer panel. “Y-Yes, sir.”

Hux turned on his heel and made his way to an office belonging to the adviser to the prince, Snoke. A rather wrinkled ugly old man who insists on wearing obnoxious golden robes, but Hux didn’t really care as long as he got his paycheck. Snoke can look ridiculous all he wants.

“What, did the prince throw a tantrum again?” Snoke said, glaring down at his reports. “Another reason to remove him from power?”

Hux shook his head. “Oh, if only.”

“He’s a petulant child. If he snapped again and made a single mistake then it would be easier to get rid of him. He uses fear and intimidation to get exactly what he wants, as I taught him.” Snoke scowled. “But the idiot uses it to waste Alderaan’s wealth away!”

Hux cleared his throat, not willing to really hear Snoke’s dramatic rant about Kylo Ren again. “We have an opportunity. He is distracted.”

That made the bare skin above Snoke’s eye twitch in curiosity. “Oh?”

“Yes. A scavenger showed up and demanded transport and subsequently attacked Ren. Instead of arresting her, he let her go and stomped off in a huff.”

Snoke tapped his fingers together. A chilling grin formed on his face. “This moment of weakness shall be his downfall.” He gestured to a small panel on the wall. “Pull the lever, Hux!”

Hux walked over and opened the panel. Two levers, both of the same size and color—Snoke really should label these things—were inside. He reached for the one on the left and Snoke hissed at him.

“Wrong lever.”

Hux tried to hold back a roll of his eyes before reaching for the lever to the right. Tugging it down, the wall behind Snoke folded in on itself. In the secret room were shelves stacked with vials of various colored liquids.

“He won’t notice if we slip something inside his drink. He’ll be dead before dessert,” Snoke explained, getting up from his desk and inspecting his wares. “Ah, this.” He plucked a vial of some green substance up. “This is known as death to Force-users. It’s perfect for the likes of Kylo Ren.”

Hux quirked an eyebrow. “And it won’t leave any evidence?”

“We’ll take a sample of his blood and fake the evidence of his death using his clothes. This is a silent killer for many Force-sensitives.” Snoke placed the vial in Hux’s gloved hand. “Slip this into his drink while I talk him up. If he’s distracted enough he won’t notice. Got it?”

Hux nodded, thrill in his gut at the prospect of removing terrors like Kylo Ren and having a proper leader in charge. “Of course, Snoke.”

* * *

Kylo sat at the head of the long table in the dining hall. He glanced at the two chairs on his left and right. A lump formed in his throat, but he dismissed the thoughts and turned back to the scavenger.

In front of him was the file Hux brought to him on the girl.

Rey.

So simple of a name. No last name either. It suited her very well, her and her lovely freckles.

He flipped open the file and found it to be bare bones. Much of the record was gathered from papers and records under Unkar Plutt, including the reason behind Rey being stranded on the planet. Sold to Plutt at the tender age of four for drinking money. His temper flared and he itched for his lightsaber on his belt, but decided against it. He needed to keep reading. If Rey was thrown away, why did she want to go back? That was the most confusing thing of all. He would have to bring her in for further questioning… and make her his student in the Force.

He set the file aside, still thinking about her. Earlier that evening while he was writing away his frustrations, a curious thing happened in the Force, connecting him to Rey. He would have to research this connection later on.

Snoke walked in and sat down at the opposite end of the table.

“Greetings, Your Highness,” Snoke said, a hint of scorn for the title. Whatever, Kylo knew that his advisor had no guts to do anything about his royal title. It’s not like Kylo asked to be prince in the first place.

“Yes, hello,” Kylo responded, not in the mood for small talk. 

“Any new developments?”

“Nothing of note. The rebuilding of Jakku is on schedule,” Kylo said, unconsciously touching the bruise on his temple. The blood had dried but it still stung.

“Well, I should bring to your attention matters of other planets such as Hosnian Prime…”

Kylo tuned out Snoke’s insistent chatter about nonsense. He would find out about such matters in the morning when Hux brought him the debriefing. He was usually bored to death at dinner and these talks. His adviser was wise, but can he not drag out the conversation for any longer? All Kylo could really focus on was Rey.

He had to hold back his amusement at thinking of seeing her again.

A glass was set down in front of him by Hux. Red wine to take the edge off. Normally, Kylo would refuse alcohol; it affected Force users quite differently. He got first hand experience with that when he was twenty-three and decided to get very, very drunk on his birthday against his uncle’s wishes. Not only did he wake up with a terrible hangover, but he swore he saw his uncle holding a lightsaber above him in the middle of the night with an attempt to kill, something about Chewie marrying his mother, and his room was trashed from terrible and sloppy use of the Force to move things. Kylo swore off drinking after that insanity.

But sometimes he would indulge in a glass or two. He knew his limits. He took a sip as he let Snoke drone on, occasionally muttering out a yes or polite disagreement. 

How much it would cost to get Rey a new wardrobe? She cannot go around dressed like a scavenger any longer. She seemed to be the simple type, so extravagance was out of the question. It was selfish to think of even spending money on a girl like this, but she needed to be more presentable instead of sticking out like a sore thumb in his own throne room.

He finished two glasses of his wine and picked at his food, mulling over the expenses in his head. Where did she live, exactly? Was she treated well by the people who took her in? Maybe she was being abused, and that made his blood boil in thought. No, she came to his palace of her own free will and not very afraid in the slightest. Did she really have a death wish? And why was he thinking about her so damn much?

He stood up, interrupting Snoke’s constant rambling. “I’m going to bed,” Kylo announced, pushing his chair in—he wasn’t a total scoundrel, unlike his father—and began walking out of the dining room.

He couldn’t even take two steps before something dragged at his limbs. Why was his mind feeling so empty all of a sudden? Why did fire lick at his soul, like he was being devoured alive? He stumbled, trying to reach out to the Force to steady himself. He saw the gaudy shoes of Snoke.

“Ah, and so the youngest Skywalker falls at last,” Snoke said with no remorse in his sneering voice.

Breathing was hard. How much did he drink? It had a tangy, off-taste. His mind scrambled to keep up. but ultimately the world went black and Kylo Ren collapsed to the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus points to anyone who figures out his punishment.


	2. Needing a Teacher

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Rey and Hux both hate Kylo's hair for different reasons.

Rey walked across the large steel pedestrian bridge held up by cables. Across the large lake and into more humble steadings were rolling hills and beautiful trees dotting the landscape. Her given home was in a quaint village and consisted of a group of rag-tags from other planets. Rose Tico and her sister Paige Tico ran the household.

Rey was still burned from being tossed out of the palace, but at least they had the courtesy to dump her on the front steps instead of resorting to defenestration.

Why did she even bother with asking a simple request from prince Kylo? She should have just stayed in her room today.

She slugged up the path on a lone hill to the large house. She entered the front door and walked past Paige reading a book and Poe Dameron, a local pilot, playing cards with Finn, one of Rey’s housemates.

“Hey, Rey.” Finn waved to her. “How was your audience with the prince?”

Her eye twitched. “Terrible.”

Poe set down his cards on the small table. “Did he hurt you?”

“No… Pretty sure I hurt him though,” Rey said.

The two men stared at her in awe. “That’s… And you weren’t arrested?” Finn asked.

BB-8, Poe’s droid, beeped something about the prince never not arresting anyone who disobeys him.

Poe coughed under his breath. “Sounds like he’s got the hots for her or something…”

Rey rolled her eyes. She was probably a fly under a heel to Prince Intolerable Kylo. “I heard that.” Her stomach rumbled. “Is there any food left?” she asked Paige.

Paige nodded, setting down her book to answer. “Of course. Rose is in the kitchen still.”

Rey trudged over to the kitchen. Rose had left a plate for Rey on the counter, not very warm. Rey didn’t particularly care. Food was food. She sat down as Rose cleaned the last dirty dish.

Rey shoveled down the food as per usual. She still wasn’t used to having consistent meals. Every day she felt aimless on this strange planet. On Jakku her only concern was survival and waiting.

Rey was very good at waiting, but her patience ran very thin today.

“You alright, Rey?” Rose asked. “How was the prince? Handsome?”

“He’s a complete nerf-herder asshat and I had the displeasure of arguing with him,” Rey said, stabbing the last piece of meat on her plate with more force than necessary. “It doesn’t matter if he has nice hair or is built like a tree, his personality is terrible. The rumors of his temper are true.”

“Hmm, nice hair?” Rose teased.

Rey’s cheeks burned. She couldn’t trust her traitorous body or her mouth. “That's beside the point. He kicked me out after I slammed his body into his own throne.”

Rose gaped. “You… Are you Force-sensitive?”

Oops. That was one secret she was trying to keep under wraps until the time was right. “Yes?”

“Well, that would explain how you got one-up on Prince Kylo.” Rose sat back on her stool in awe. “Wow. I don’t think anyone has had any guts to stand up to him.”

“Because no one has been his equal…” Rey grumbled. Rose took her empty plate and set it to be washed. “I’m going to go for a walk.”

She left the kitchen and made her way out the backdoor to the sprawling hills next to the forest. The grass tickled her calves as she strolled, the breeze pushing against her back. She found a rock nestled on a ledge overlooking the sea, next to a waterfall. The mist was so cooling it made Rey shiver.

She would miss this when she went back to Jakku.

Rey closed her eyes, trying to think of just the rush of water and not a certain asshole prince who denied her passage. 

But she couldn't hear the rush of water anymore. It’s as if the sound was sucked away from her ears. Rey blinked open her eyes and was faced with Kylo, sitting across from her.

She gaped in horror. How did he even get there?

He didn’t seem to notice, looking down at something in his lap with a pen in hand. His movements halted and he glanced up, just as surprised as she was.

He reached a hand up, Rey’s body seizing up on instinct but she remained glued to her spot on the rock. 

“You’re not doing this, the effort would kill you,” Kylo said. 

Rey was more concerned with the fact she wanted to sock him in the face and the opportunity was right there, but she found she couldn’t. He tried the Force on her and it didn’t work.

He glanced around. “Can you see my surroundings? I can’t see yours… just you.”

She followed his example. True to his observation, she could only see him. Huh. “I… No. Only you.”

Why was she even entertaining this? She stood up, ready to turn her back on him.

“This is something else…” Kylo muttered. He too stood up, and they were right in front of each other.

It was very irritating that he towered over her. He looked down on her. 

“Are we done?” she snapped. “Or you want to pry into this scavenger’s business again?”

He scoffed. “I can’t use the Force on you and you can’t use the Force on me. I can’t do anything even if I wanted to.”

Just like that, he vanished. The rush of the waterfall surged back to Rey’s ears, making her flinch. She gazed around, searching for any lingering traces of Kylo’s presence. None.

She went back inside the house and crawled onto her bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering what the hell just happened.

Eventually, after the sunset, something tightened within her, as if something was tearing apart her soul but not quite getting there.

Rey yelped in surprise as she fell off her bed and tumbled to the floor. She gasped for air. “What… what was that?”

It was like a faint sensation, something warm, was silenced.

* * *

Why did Hux put up with being Snoke’s assistant? Oh, right, promises of a higher government position once Snoke was in power.

Right now, as Hux dragged the very tall and very large body of Kylo Ren through the empty and quiet hallways of the palace, he was reconsidering whether that position of power was even remotely worth it. Why did Kylo have to be large? The Force was already enough of a deterrent, he one hundred percent didn’t need to be built like a stacked brick house on top of that.

Hux was half tempted to slice his stupid hair off, but he couldn’t leave any evidence of a body. Force users disappeared upon death according to Snoke. He had grabbed spare clothes from Kylo’s wardrobe and planted the evidence right at the table. Snoke went and alerted the Knights of Ren once Hux moved the body out of sight.

The back rooms of the palace extended into the basement, where the natural water ran underneath the palace. Perfect place to shove Kylo’s body into the natural reservoir and have the currents take his body out to sea. No one would know. No evidence left behind.

Hux huffed for air, trying to maintain a grip on Kylo’s arm on his shoulder. He made a mental note to inquire about a raise after this. He lugged the body over the ledge and kicked him off, the currents doing the rest.

Kylo Ren was no more. Time to make the announcement to the planet that they were under new management.

* * *

Rey decided to stretch her aching body—she had slept on the floor by accident—by taking a nice stroll by the beach after breakfast.

The waves caressed the beach, the breeze tugged at her poncho and her triple buns. It was nice. All very nice.

Something in her gut twisted. Like some instinct was compelling her to look past a bunch of rocks a few feet away. So she did.

She found a figure cloaked in black, face down in the sand. A man his size. Without even thinking, she turned him over to feel his pulse and jumped out of her skin.

It was the prince of Alderaan, in the flesh. His dark hair clung to his face, his clothes were soaked to the bone. He was a half-drowned rat, a far departure from his intimidating nature. Asleep like this he looked like just a boy with no worries or anger to mar his expression.

He groaned, waking up. His eyes— _ why did his eyes have to be so pretty? _ —opened.

Rey wasn't sure what to do. She couldn’t just leave him there and he already spotted her.

Damn her own heart.

* * *

Kylo felt very weird and empty. His limbs were dragging. His head ached—too much wine no doubt—and his soul... somehow his soul was torn.

But all that didn’t matter because Rey was in front of him. Was it a Force connection or was she actually standing before him? Where the hell was he?

He breathed in and out, trying to lift up his hand to see if he could physically touch Rey.

“Your Highness?” Rey’s concerned voice spoke in his ears. Such a contrast against her raw anger.

“Rey…” he muttered out without thinking.

She frowned. “How did you get my name?”

Oh. Right.

He sat up and reached for her again, and Rey stepped back, her makeshift staff out. “Don’t you dare—”

He tried to use the Force to push himself up. Nothing. He flopped back against the wet sand. “Kriff,” he groaned in pain.

Kylo made another attempt to use the Force. Still nothing. His confusion gave away to anger and frustration. Was this the alcohol? What…

Finally, he managed to get to his knees. His blood rushed in his ears and the crashing of gentle waves made him nauseous. He tried to reach out with the Force. Still nothing. Nada. Zilch.

Rey didn’t move at all. She was a statue ready to fight him.

“Kriff,” he said again, taking a step forward on unsteady feet. He leaned himself against a rock, trying to consider what the hell happened to lead him here.

He had two glasses of wine. Snoke was jabbering on about endless bureaucratic nonsense. He got up to go to bed and hopefully not think about Rey, then he remembered feeling drowsy and like his very essence was being torn apart within…

Snoke finally had the guts to poison him.

If Snoke was trying to kill him though, he failed spectacularly.

“What happened?” Rey demanded, her staff still pointing right at him.

Kylo looked into her brilliant hazel eyes. “My crazy adviser decided to get rid of me.”

Rey kept her glare on him. “Considering your attitude, can’t say I blame him.”

Ouch.

He rolled his eyes. “And somehow, he put something in my drink and now I don’t have the Force.”

The reality of not having the Force, living, breathing it, feeling it, that was unnerving. He couldn’t remember a time not being sensitive to it.

“I don’t have the Force,” he said again.

He didn’t have the Force.

Kylo Ren was  _ screwed.  _

* * *

How convenient. Kylo Ren the Jerkass Prince of Alderaan was without his one ability to intimidate and get what he wanted.

Rey, however, was no idiot. Just because he didn’t have the Force didn’t mean he couldn’t compensate. He was still a very tall, broody man who clearly worked out. He could just grab her pathetic staff and snap it in half if he wanted to.

But  _ she  _ still had the Force, and that was an advantage. She inspected his form sprawled out on the rock and caught something glistening in the daylight on his belt. His infamous lightsaber, all black and with a red wire trailing down the hilt. Without thinking about it, she reached out with her hand on instinct and the saber went flying to her grip.

She had zero idea how to even wield a sword like this. Couldn’t be that hard, right?

Kylo snapped out of his stupor when he saw his own weapon in the hands of Rey. His face hardened into… something. It was bordering between a glare and exasperation like Rey was a petulant child.

“You don’t even know how to use that,” Kylo said, his tone firm.

“I can figure it out myself.”

“Yes, and you’ll slice a finger off because of the crossguard. And I would prefer all of you intact.”

What did that mean? “I’m not a reckless child.”

“No, just reckless.”

He pushed himself off the rock and towered over her. She moved her grasp to hold his saber behind her back. Damn him and his height.

“Give it back,” he said.

Rey was not having it. “No.”

“You’d leave me defenseless?”

“I hardly think you’re actually defenseless.”

“I don’t…” His voice was strained. “I don’t have the Force.”

“You’re tall and can easily snap something in your hand alone.”

"Being able to crush something in my own hand is hardly qualifying for self-defense. Besides, if I was truly that desperate right now I would have the saber in my hand, Force or not."

She still wasn't going to give him his lightsaber, not after how she managed to piss him off yesterday. "You managed to get poisoned and thrown into the sea. I think going without your lightsaber, which I am sure is just compensating for something—“ He rolled his eyes at that. "Is not the end of the world.“

"Then at least do me the favor, Rey, of escorting me back to my palace and using that lightsaber to get me reconnected to the Force."

The gall. "No," she stated, glaring into his pretty eyes which happened to be the color of whiskey in the mid-noon sun. "You can go back yourself. You got yourself into this mess, you can fix it."

Was it her or did he get even taller all of a sudden? "Oh, believe me sweetheart—“ She wanted to throttle him right then and there for using such a term. "You are literally Alderaan's only hope right now. Your ignorance of the situation at hand regarding my poisoning and me is astounding."

She rolled her eyes. "I know everything I need to know about you."

"You do?" He stared at her with a slight tilt of his head. "Ahh, you do."

Rey ran her mouth off before she could consider what she was saying. "You're an entitled, spoiled prick who cannot take no for an answer and rules his own kingdom with an iron fist."

She was expecting a hurt expression—he was an open book. But instead, all she saw was… acceptance?

"Do you know of what will happen with my now-fired adviser being in charge? You can expect to be put to work for practically nothing, forget going back to Jakku—"

"Excuse me, Your Royal Insufferable Highness, you denied me that anyways. I see no difference."

He continued as if she hadn't interrupted him. "You won't be just a girl relocated to a better planet, you'll be a  _ slave _ . I am a monster who has an obligation to uphold the systems put into place by his parents, but Snoke will make life here worse for everyone by dismantling everything. You're a scavenger  _ nobody _ who is free labor in his eyes."

"Thanks for the  _ lovely _ compliment," Rey said, clutching his lightsaber in anger. Frustration made her bite her lip. She didn't take Kylo as the lying type—he was strange in his sincerity. Which meant what he said about his scheming adviser was true.

There was a moment of silence. He didn't scold her for anything she said to him. Didn't even try to refute her words, only giving the larger picture. Why? For an entitled Prince he was very much concerned about his people.

Doesn't excuse his demanding attitude.

"Why am I your only hope?" she asked.

"Snoke has the Force like you. Until I receive the anecdote to the poison he used, I will not stand a chance against him or the guards who will no doubt attack me on sight as an impostor."

Her eyes widened at the revelation. "No way I am going to march right up to the palace and take on a bunch of guards and your evil adviser using the Force."

His gaze upon her got more intense. His mouth—she really needed to stop thinking about his mouth—twitched at a smirk. "You need a teacher."

"And where would I find one, Highness?" she asked with a scoff.

He ran his hand through his softening hair. Even as it dried it was still gorgeous and fluffed up and that was just unfair. She secretly wished the loss of the Force also took his magical hair with it. "What do you think?"

To be taught by him sounded like a living nightmare. "No," she said.

"I don't think you have many options in the matter, sweetheart. Unless you would like to attempt to leave the planet and go to some island in the middle of the galaxy to be taught by my uncle who spouts Jedi cult nonsense."

There it was again, that stupid little nickname. "Maybe I do."

"You're kidding."

"If it means getting out of here, no, I am not."

He sighed in frustration. "Look, if you let me teach you and you help me get rid of my adviser, I will fulfill your request."

She quirked an eyebrow. "You would actually do that?"

He didn't flinch or blink as he gave his answer. "Yes."

She could go back to Jakku. She could actually go back. She extended her hand out to shake his. "Don't shake unless you mean it."

His eyes darted from her face to her hand. He took off his glove—his hand was so  _ big _ compared to hers—and shook her hand in a warm, gentle grasp.

“So we have an accord,” he said, not letting go of her hand yet for some strange reason.

“We do.”

“And when will you give me back my lightsaber?”

“When you actually need it,” she said, pulling her hand away and turning on her heel to walk down the beach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you know how hard it is not to go into a long-ass angsty paragraph about Kylo losing his force sensitivity? The potential! but this is a more comedic fic so I have to keep that angst in check lol
> 
> Next chapter, we throw the two off a waterfall :D


	3. Two Idiots One Brain Cell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kylo thinks about kissing, frequently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... And the idiots fight for custody over the single brain cell. (Thank you to PlatonWrites for that addon to the title lol)
> 
> Thank you to my lovely beta reader Morrigan's Muse for really helping me out this chapter spag wise. I am applying similar notes to the previous two chapters.

“Where. Is. His. Lightsaber?” Snoke growled out. 

All the blood drained from Hux’s face at the realization he never grabbed Kylo’s lightsaber in the rush to get rid of the evidence. It hadn’t even occurred to him to think of it, which begged the question:  _ why hadn’t Snoke thought of it either? _

Now they didn’t have one-hundred percent irrefutable proof of the death of Kylo Ren. His lightsaber was missing, a major part of his image. Probably the only part.

“If it is lost at sea, we’ll need a replica. A convincing one. Fix this, Armitage—” Hux really despised being called that— “Or else it will be your head as well as mine.”

Hux stood dumbly in the throne room before Snoke, rolling over in his head precisely where the lightsaber could be. Maybe they could actually forge one. It’s not like anyone would notice… Except for the only other notorious Force-user in the galaxy. 

And the Knights of Ren. 

Of course, it had to be the Knights of Ren who demanded to see the lightsaber presented at the eulogy. Their undying loyalty to their master persisted even in death. Snoke would have to win over those groveling dogs, eventually.

As Hux walked out of the throne room, he had one single little fear inducing thought.

Maybe there was a chance Kylo Ren was still alive, somehow.

He hadn’t disappeared into thin air, but only experienced Force users could do that or something. Some sort of trick, from what Snoke had told him. 

Maybe Hux was fretting for nothing.

* * *

In truth, Kylo just wanted to teach Rey everything he knew about the Force. She was stubborn to a damn fault, which was irritating in matters of importance, but he really couldn’t just let her run around with her potential. The woman slammed him into his own throne after breaking his grip for kriff’s sake. She needed to come into her own and not accidentally break something, whether that was a vase on a table or a bone in someone’s thigh, but preferably not his thigh.

He followed her up the cliffside into rolling hills painted with green. A large house sat in the distance. He assumed this was her current residence.

“We are not going near that house,” Rey grumbled under her breath.

Fine by him. The less attention they have on this issue the better.

He eyed the lightsaber in her steel grip. She was one to talk about his strength. From where she came from, she looked just as capable in a fight. The crossguard has led to some minor accidents on his hands. Nothing that sliced fingers off, but that wasn’t his only concern with her using it.

He would certainly enjoy watching her hold his lightsaber in battle.

“If you hold that lightsaber any tighter, you’re going to strain your hand before we get within fifty feet of my palace,” he said.

Was that a twitch of the muscle under her eye?

“I didn’t ask for any of this you know,” she muttered. The loosening of her grip on his lightsaber did not go unnoticed. “I was perfectly content on my planet.”

“How can you be content on a planet full of sand that is rough and coarse and gets everywhere? Not to mention you were probably starving—”

“I didn’t ask for your opinions on my life you ripped me out of.”

He ran his hand through his hair. Why was she so stubborn? 

“I’m not trying to pass judgment on the obvious, I am merely curious as to why.”

“Why, what?”

“Why do you insist on going back.”

She rolled her eyes. “I thought I made that clear in your throne room.”

“Ah yes, point made when your powers awakened after… How old are you exactly?” He already knew her age from what he read, but no harm in asking for confirmation.

“I’m nineteen.”

“Ah, she finally gives me an answer with no hesitation.”

She whirled around to glare at him. “It’s not that personal of a question you insufferable—” she stopped herself from finishing that sentence and began a new one. “You could have probably guessed anyways. How old are you, old man? Forty?”

Now it was his turn to roll his eyes. “I’m twenty-nine.”

“Wow, you’re ancient.”

“It’s only ancient to you because you haven’t even reached your twenties yet.”

“You’re almost in your thirties.”

“Don’t remind me.”

They fell into a comfortable silence after that, walking along the path towards the steel bridge leading into the city. Kylo couldn’t stop thinking about how young Rey was, but she didn’t act her age. His first guess was at least mid-twenties before peeking at her profile. Didn’t matter how old she was, though (besides the obvious). She had such lovely freckles that would look nice no matter her years…

“How did you know my name?” Rey asked, breaking Kylo out of his thoughts.

He shrugged. “I had you investigated.”

She whirled around on her heel. “You’re unbelievable.”

“You’re currently my subject who walked up to me and started making demands.”

“So, I’m just your subject now.”

Poor choice of words, but he was stating facts, wasn’t he?

“You’re also my student,” he reminded her. “Which means we need to stop talking about this nonsense and work on you not getting us killed with your Force abilities.”

“If we’re getting killed, then it’s your own negligence for keeping your adviser around, not for my lack of knowledge in the Force.”

“Ahh, right. You know everything you need to know about me.”

She didn’t retort. Instead, Rey looked down at his lightsaber before looking up into his intense gaze. 

“Fine, since you insist on teaching me and blackmailing me with my freedom—”

“When you put it that way, you’re acting as if I kidnapped you.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Because you did. Either way, master—”

That had his breath catching in his throat. Did she really have to call him master? His Knights did, but his Knights weren’t Rey. 

“Enlighten me with your Force-wisdom.”

He crossed his arms. “Lesson one: you need to learn how to breathe properly.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Are you going to fight me tooth and nail on this or you going to let me teach you?” He reached for her shoulders, placing his hands with care on her bare skin. “Please, sit down.”

Rey obeyed, sitting down in the grass. He sat down in front of her, legs crossed just like hers. The slight breeze tugged at his cape, so he pulled it off and folded it before placing his hands on his knees. Her little strays fluttered, framing her face in such a…

Focus. He needed to focus, even though there was no Force for him to concentrate on. The only thing he could concentrate on now was Rey and her wispy hair that he really wanted to see let loose from her triple buns. 

Swallowing, he began. 

“You need to learn to commune to the Force by understanding what it is. So, tell me, what exactly is the Force?”

“It… Allows you to move things or people,” she said.

He had to resist giving her a very pointed look. She was lucky she didn’t have Luke Skywalker as her teacher. 

“That is what Force users can do, yes. But there's much more to it. Close your eyes.”

She looked at him then at the lightsaber next to her thigh. Flattening her lips in a tight line, she followed his instructions.

Kylo leaned forward to inspect each muscle in her face relaxing. “Breathe in and out. Focus on nothing else. What do you feel?”

He could only imagine what she was experiencing. The entire world around her, everything from him, to the smallest blade of grass. The planet they were on, a living being all of its own.

“The sea. The birds. Life. Light. Darkness…”

“And?”

Her nose wrinkled. “Balance.”

Envy boiled in his stomach at her wondrous connection. To be able to breathe and feel everything was a rush and yet… calming, like mindlessly painting strokes of a letter on paper. He never knew how much he took comfort in his sensitivity to the Force until it was gone. 

* * *

Rey couldn’t really say it was balance. It was an attempt at balance in the Force, like something was missing and leaving a gaping hole within. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but it was the same feeling that haunted her since last night when she felt her soul split in two.

She opened her eyes and came back to where she was, sitting in the grass, Kylo staring at her with an indiscernible expression.

She had to give Kylo credit—he was patient as a teacher. Giving him any credit was charitable though since he was still nosy and entitled and somehow managed to get hold of a record on her—since when did she even have one? 

Whatever, she doesn’t owe him anything. He can pry all he wants.

Too bad communing with the Force left her drained.

“Can we get going?” she said, not really willing to put up with more of his lessons, even if he was a better teacher than most.

“You need to know how to fight.”

“I know how to fight.” She stood up, immediately reaching for her staff and his lightsaber before he could get any funny ideas. She felt a bit tired, like she could curl up and take a nap after that out-of-body experience. Like she was willing to admit that, though.

“Fight using the Force,” he added. “It’s a much different battlefield to you now. You thought you needed to rely on instinct before, but now that’s all you have.”

“That’s so reassuring.” She saw the steel bridge in sight. A relief in a way. Rey took to that bridge rather fast the first day she was brought here. It was nice to watch the falls from and it had a soothing misty air. 

Without dawdling, she marched to the bridge, Kylo following her with rather grumpy-sounding footsteps.

“This is serious,” he chided her. 

“And I want this done before lunch, thank you,” she remarked. “I know how to fight, and if you’re saying I only need instinct, then clearly that’s enough.”

“It’s not just about flailing a lightsaber around.”

She pretended to ignore him, reaching the bridge only to find it’s… closed off for some reason. Flimsy thin tape blocked the entrance. She looked up and down the bridge. Nothing was changed except for the tape. Why had they closed the bridge? How were people going to get in and out of the city? 

“Snoke…” Kylo muttered under his breath. “Taking every precaution possible to make sure my tragic death is believable.”

“Why did he do this, exactly?”

“Locked down the city. No one goes in or out in the wake of the prince’s death.”

Rey eyed the tape and decided that there was no harm in breaking the rules. No one else was around anyways. She ducked down underneath and walked to the center of the bridge.

“That’s illegal,” he scolded her in his usual firm tone.

She rolled her eyes. “And who is going to arrest me? You?”

Kylo followed after her, stopping an arm’s length away. “Considering you’re stuck doing as I say, I think I already did.”

She scoffed in disgust. The nerve of him. Her blood boiled at his remarks, at his utter disdain for her just because she wasn’t on his stupid class level. 

“Just because I agreed to help you—because for some strange reason you being an ass is less of an ass than your slimy adviser—does not mean,” she jabbed her finger into his very solid chest, “That I am just some pathetic scavenger servant at your damn beck and call!” 

She bit her lip for a second at the fact he was a brick wall towering over her once again.

He grabbed onto her upper arms.

“Let go of me!” She snarled.

“Stop squirming before you get us killed,” he said, his tone strained with underlying panic. “One of the cables snapped.”

She looked up towards the cables holding the bridge on instinct. The bastard was right. One of the cables had pulled so tight it snapped.

Still, did he have to touch her like this?

“I don’t think this bridge was closed just because of Snoke’s doing,” Kylo said, trying to keep calm, though his face showed everything. Damn his beautiful expressive features.

“Then we need to get off the bridge now,” she demanded. “Not sit here like a bunch of clueless porgs.”

“Rey, if we move chances are another cable is going to snap.”

“Not my fault. This bridge was perfectly fine yesterday and I had no issues crossing. You’re obviously causing the bridge to collapse.”

“Are you insinuating something? If so, I don’t appreciate it.”

Her eyes trailed up and down his massive form in comparison to hers. How tall was he? At least six feet or more. If only Rey knew more about the different types of trees in the galaxy so she could have a much better comparison to draw from.

“It’s not my fault you’re tall,” she huffed. “Can you please let me go?”

“Not until you’re safe.”

Well, great, they were at a standstill. “Got a plan then, Your Highness?” she said, crossing her arms as much as she was allowed to by his firm grip. 

“You’re going to use the Force to keep that cable next to you from snapping.”

Her eyes glanced at the railing before her, which was accompanied by a cable for support. The strain of the metal threw unease into her gut. She looked down—that was a very long fall—right into the deep river that ran over a cliff into several waterfalls. 

Rey swallowed. She wasn’t this afraid of heights before with all the ships she climbed over, but this was something else. This looked like certain death waiting to happen.

“How?” she queried, eyes wide and her tone suddenly matching Kylo’s in underlying panic.

“Focus,” Kylo said. She wasn’t sure if he was referring to her or him with how his voice struggled to keep calm. 

“I would focus if it wasn’t for the fact you sound anything but calm.”

His throat visibly swallowed. Oh no. He was actually afraid, right now. That served to make her panic rise higher than ever in her entire life. 

“Just open yourself up to the Force. Trust your instincts.”

Rey’s mind was blanking. How was making herself vulnerable again going to help in this? It didn’t matter that Kylo was holding her tight in his stupidly large warm hands. She was not about to enter a meditative state while on a collapsing bridge.

So, she did what her only traitorous instincts told her, and latched her fingers onto his tunic for dear life. 

“Rey stop—”

“I don’t want to die like this,” she cried, squeezing her eyes shut as she heard the strain of another cable. “Stuck on a bridge with the bastard prince of Alderaan…”

“For the record, my parents are married.”

“I was told you were born before the wedding.”

“That’s irre—dammit, focus Rey!”

It was the only time he raised his voice at her, she realized. The first and possibly only time. He was right. They were going to die on this bridge. She didn’t want to be found next to his corpse, even if he was good looking. 

Focus. Her priorities ever since she met this insufferable man has been so skewed. She breathed in and out with large heaving gasps. Focus on the Force. Focus on the Force…

She found herself unable to really tap into it. Of all the times she couldn’t willingly use it, and it had to be kriffing now.

The cable snapped.

She heard a myriad of things. Something slipping, a string of swears from Kylo Ren’s very nice looking mouth, and her own scream.

And now she was hanging off the half-collapsed bridge by her hands with the prince of Alderaan clutching to her calf for dear life. Just great. He was so heavy that she was resigned to her fate. This was how Rey of Jakku was going to die, all because she had enough heart to not kick the extra weight off her leg.

Her grip slipped and something warm and firm wrapped around her waist in a tight hold.

* * *

Water was wet. Very wet. And cold. And very suffocating.

And did gravity have to affect it so much? It hurt being thrown off a waterfall—no, several waterfalls.

And the only thing Rey could really keep a grip on was Kylo holding her despite the rapids trying to rip them apart. She didn’t know if Kylo even said anything the entire time they were flung around, she could only hear the rush of crushing waves and her own screams.

Finally, she was torn away from his arms, the sheer power of the treacherous waters proving too much.

“Rey!” he cried out for her over the roar.

Submerged in the water, Rey clawed her way for air. Her lungs were being crushed and this was definitely how she was going to die. In a cold dark abyss without the comforting arms of Kylo Ren around her.

She let herself go, air bubbles slipping out of her mouth.

What was it that Kylo said? Breathe? Trust her instincts?

Only now was she realizing, on the brink of death, what he meant. Trust the Force.

So, she did.

And she clawed her way up, breaking free from the water’s surface to inhale fresh air into her lungs. The waters were calmer, much calmer. She scanned the rippled river for any sign of Kylo. There was nothing. Panic rushed through her blood. Where was he? 

“Kylo!” she screamed. “Kylo Ren!”

The one issue of living on a desert planet was she didn’t know how to kriffing swim in water.

Something stark black caught her eye. She flailed her arms about, letting instinct take over. She reached out with her hand, concentrating on that spot of black. All she cared about was getting him back, preferably alive.

Kylo’s body floated to the surface. Rey made a mad-dash towards him, struggling every step of the way through the heavy water. She grabbed onto him, finding his eyes closed and his face very pale.

“Oh, no you don't you handsome bastard, you have to live.” 

She grabbed him by the arm and looked around. Land. Rey never thought she would be happy to see sand ever again, but she didn’t care.

She pulled Kylo to shore, laying his limp body down. He wasn’t moving. She was pretty sure he wasn’t breathing. He had water that needed to be removed. 

Something told her she needed to place her hands on his chest, where his lungs were. She breathed in and out, letting her instincts take over once again. 

“You need to breathe,” she whispered, trying to force the water out of his lungs. “I need you to live.” 

A single tear trailed down her cheek, but she ignored it. The Force flowed through her being, humming with something that felt so right. Kylo coughed up water and clutched at his chest. As he gasped for air, looking at Rey in disbelief and clouded eyes. Rey relaxed her shoulders and hands.

“Rey.” 

He coughed more. There was something very vulnerable in how his hair clung to his face. He was beautiful even if he looked like a drowned rat. He winced in pain. 

“What did you do?”

“I saved your life, Highness,” she said, her brows tightening in a line at his tone.

“You…” He looked away from her, looking down at his chest. “How?”

“I don’t know.”

He looked back at her. “Thank you.”

Oh, why did he have to stare at her like a drowned puppy? She swallowed her pride for the moment. “You’re welcome.”

He was… sincere? Why was he being sincere? He shouldn’t be sincere. It did funny things to her stomach and it wasn’t caused by the relief and lingering fear that he’d almost drowned.

* * *

If one were to ask Kylo what he wanted to do the second he realized he wasn’t dead from drowning, he would name two things:

One: strip off all of his clothes just so he could dry off.

Two: kiss Rey. On the lips, specifically.

The first option was logical, the second one was an impulse he didn’t know he had. He just wanted to kiss her. He really wanted to, but she hated his guts; well he brought that on himself, didn’t he? He was one-hundred percent sure she would punch him if he ever dared to entertain the thought of just reaching out with his hand to wrap his fingers around the back of her neck and tug her to his lips…

Kylo Ren was, without a doubt, very screwed. He was screwed before by not having the Force, and he still felt that emptiness, but now he was extra screwed. That wondrous desire to kiss Rey meant one thing and he did not like it.

So, he muttered his thank you and looked away from her so he wouldn’t gawk at her lips. 

Even when she was soaking wet from the water her speckled cheeks were lovely. Her lips were lovely. Everything about her was lovely.

“We should dry off,” Rey suggested, bringing Kylo back to reality.

He needed to get out of these clothes before he caught a cold. Glancing at Rey’s rags, he found she was much worse for wear. 

In the midst of the rushing roar of rapids, Ben’s cape had caught on a rock, but the tearing was small, only an inch or so. However, Rey’s loose draped rags were doomed when she got caught as well. Half her coverings were torn in giant gashes. 

She would definitely need new things to wear after this if they were to trek all the way back up to the capitol.

Kylo reached out for her, taking her by the wrist and attempting to push himself up. His muscles were sore and his throat ached. This day was just one trial after another. He was starting to hate water systems—he started to loathe water. 

The sun was low on the horizon, pouring through the trees of the expansive jungle. Just how far did they fall? Where did they even go?

“Can… can you gather timber for a fire?” Rey asked, holding Kylo steady.

Kylo nodded, trying very, very hard to not look at her mouth. He clipped off his rather intact cape and walked over to a small clearing on the beach covered in dry sand. He hated how it got everywhere, but it would have to do. He laid out his dark cape to dry and then took off the rest of his clothes until the only thing left was his loose sweater, pants, and boots. 

He set out a short distance from the little camp and grabbed various twigs in the brushes. His soaked sweater drove him nuts but he wasn’t about to venture into the jungle bare-chested. 

Returning back, Rey was kneeling in the sand, creating a small pit made of rocks. Setting down the supplies, Kylo looked at her, taking in the newfound sight that stole his breath away.

He noticed two of her buns had come loose.

“You can use my lightsaber to strike the fire,” he struggled to get out the words in a coherent fashion.

Rey nodded. With deft fingers she arranged the timber and brush in the pit.

Taking his sweater off, Kylo sat down across from her. She picked up his lightsaber and looked at it with unease. She switched it on, the sheer raw power shaking her knuckles as red pierced the air. 

Kylo stared at the sight in awe. Rey holding his weapon with a curious glint in her eye was for a lack of a better term, exciting. She appeared powerful, and soon she would be as powerful as he was.

Was.

With care, she lowered the blade to the tinder. A spark of flame came to life and the fire took the chill off his bones. It was warm in the jungle, but as the sun was already set the temperature would drop.

Rey looked up from her work on increasing the strength of the fire and flinched upon looking at Kylo.

Was she truly that repulsed by the sight of him?

* * *

He just  _ had _ to take off his shirt, didn’t he?

Rey turned her head away. The lingering chill from her dip in the river was forgotten as her cheeks warmed to an absurdly high temperature. He… Well, she couldn’t really think about it too hard. Kylo Ren was shredded. That was a fact. If only he had a cowl or something to put on, but it’s not like he did this to make her flustered or to show off. She had taken off her torn dripping rags to warm up, same as him. 

She’d never seen a man like this. On Jakku showing any skin was dangerous due to the blazing heat and the metal of the sparse ships lying around. Rey really wanted to throw herself back into the water to get her face to cool down. She just had to get flustered like this for no reason.

He was staring at her across from the flames. Could he not?

Rey bit her lip and shifted back from the fire to contain the heat on her cheeks. It wasn’t working. Kylo was still staring at her.

Maybe she should have let him drown to spare her this raging embarrassment. Poe would be laughing at him, Rose would be edging her on to go sit closer and just the mere thought of that idea alone made Rey blush harder.

Kylo reached over to his cloak in the sand, feeling it. “It’s still damp, not warm enough to sleep on yet.”

Rey nodded. “I um…”

Damn, this silence was giving her a slow and painful death. 

“Why did you save me?” Kylo asked her, his gaze intense. She was so glad night had fallen and the flames obscured her cheeks. “You could have let me drown and gone about your business.”

She put her hands on her hips. “Because, you bastard, I need you. And I’m not letting people die on my watch, not when I could have done something. Even if his name is Kylo Ren, insufferable prince of Alderaan.”

His lips parted in surprise. Wait, why was he surprised in the first place? They struck a deal, he informed her not-so-politely about what his adviser would do. Rey thought everything was obvious.

Then he chuckled. Chuckled. There was a smirk of amusement on his very pretty, pouty lips. What was so funny? 

“What about Ben Organa-Solo, Prince of Alderaan? Would you save a man with that name?”

Rey furrowed her brows. “Wait, that’s your name?”

He gave a slow nod. “Not as intimidating, is it?”

“I… But…”

Ben Organa-Solo. That name made him human with insecurities and vulnerabilities. It was somehow more accessible. Easier to talk to the man named Ben than the self-proclaimed monster, Kylo.

She bit her lip again. She was doing that a lot, all of a sudden. The fire she had in snarking and putting him into his place was extinguished. “I like your real name better.”

There, she admitted it. She liked something about him.

Rey could see his pale cheeks flush pink even in the orange glow of the fire. Payback was a small comfort. She was still offended that he doubted her intentions. She… didn’t entirely despise him. The panic in her when she thought he was dead, that was just a result of her not wanting people to die, period. She was just doing what was right.

“Why did you take on the name Kylo Ren?” Rey asked.

“Because it’s my own. I was named after someone else and I’m a Skywalker. I didn’t…” he looked away. “I didn’t ask for that. I just want the past to die.” He glanced back up to her, his intense gaze returning. “And the past has to die. Kill it if need be.”

She blinked at him. It was so pointed, so direct. He wasn’t just talking about himself, he was talking about  _ her. _

Rey was reminded that he had read a file. What did it even say? How much did it tell about her? It couldn’t have all the details, right? No one could read her mind—well, except him, but he was currently powerless in that department.

“We need the past though,” she said.

He tilted his head at her.

She continued. “How do we learn from our mistakes if we forget them?”

“It’s one thing to keep the past in mind, it’s another to cling to it so tightly that you lose your sense of self and stunt your potential.”

Her hand tightened into a grip. His every word was getting very direct and it was irritating. “I don’t—”

“You do.” He stated it as if it was fact. “You cling to your past so badly you would rather live on a forsaken planet that reduced you to nothing more than a starving desert rat, scurrying around.”

Oh, there it was. His asshatness had returned. “I don’t appreciate your tone. Even so, what I want in life is none of your business.”

His shoulders relaxed. He gave her one last look before reaching over to see if his sweater was dry. It was a look Rey never wanted to see again, one of disappointment.

“You’re such a hypocrite, Rey.”

“And you don’t take no for an answer. I’m not talking about this.”

He pulled his sweater back on. “You can sleep on my cape. I will watch.”

His tone left no room for debate. Rey pouted, expecting more fire and ire from him, but he only sat there, expecting her to follow his indirect order. She sat there, hugging her knees to her chest. Rey knew she was being childish, but she didn’t care.

“Are you seriously…” He ran his hand through his hair before standing up. 

Before she could really do anything, he had hauled her off her spot into his arms like she was nothing and set her down on the makeshift blanket in the sand. She moved to get up and off in farther defiance but he was not having it. He laid down next to her and wrapped his arm around her in a lock hold.

“Sleep,” he ordered her.

If she could, Rey would have crossed her arms by now. “Maybe I won’t.”

“For kriff’s sake, Rey.”

Rey let out a traitorous yawn. “I’m cold, so no.”

He pushed his body over hers and pressed her against his chest. His stone-solid chest. That she got a major eye-full of earlier.

Rey squeezed her eyes shut trying to fight the heat returning to her cheeks. Why, oh, why did she have to get stuck in this situation? 

First, she was forcibly removed from Jakku, then she had to meet this bastard, then she got Force powers, and stuck being his student, and thrown down a cliff in the span of a week. Now, she was pinned to the very strong body of Ben Organa-Solo.

At least Rey was alive and she could have been thrown into a pit of snakes instead.

* * *

A report about the north pedestrian bridge collapsing came in. Hux normally wouldn’t have paid much attention—that was Mitaka’s job, but Hux was scrambling to find any sort of way to find that kriffing lightsaber.

Desperate times called for desperate measures. Hux sat down for a break to look at the insignificant report and found one thing very peculiar. The north bridge led to where the scavenger's current residence was. Wasn’t she Force-sensitive, like Ren?

Time to investigate her housing files. Finally, a lead. Maybe he’ll find some way to fake Kylo Ren’s lightsaber, or even how to find it.

Rey woke up with her bones chilled and her muscles sore. The warmth of Ben was gone, and the fire had died out in the early hours of morning. She sat up on the makeshift bed consisting of his very large cape and stretched, searching around for him. His lightsaber was still in the same spot she had left it last night.

He could have just taken it if he wanted to.

This meant nothing. It was just a lightsaber.

* * *

It occurred to her that she was still hardly wearing anything except a thin flimsy cloth top and her torn leggings. She shook out the cape from the sand and wrapped it around herself. Hm, it smelled like lingering traces of paper, ink, sand, and freshwater. She picked up the lightsaber and stopped in her tracks a few feet from the pit.

Was it her or was the lightsaber crying?

Rey furrowed her brow. The concept just popped into her head as if she knew what it was already, but it was ridiculous. A weapon like this couldn’t be crying. It was a weapon. Yet the soft, pleading cry it had… How did she not notice until now?

Large footsteps in the sand led into the jungle. Rey followed the trail. Massive leaves and foliage brushed against her shoulders and ankles. Birds chirped in the treetops. Where did Ben go?

Rey stumbled upon a bush with beautiful red flowers tethering on the edge of pink in the low glow of morning. She picked it up into her hand, finding it smelled nice, like the cape wrapped around her. She was so engrossed in the petals’ texture that she didn’t notice the stone-solid chest right in front of her.

She looked up to Ben, his arms crossed and a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Morning,” he greeted, eyes flickering up and down from her flower to her shoulders covered in black to her face.

Her mouth was very dry. “Morning,” she mumbled out.

“It’s a day’s walk back to the city from what I can tell. There’s a town not too far away.”

She nodded. “Good. I need food.”

Ben raised an eyebrow. “You need clothes and food.”

“What? I can’t just wear this the entire time?”

His cheeks were pink. “No…”

She gave him a smug look. “You sure about that?”

Ben didn’t answer because something landed right on Rey’s knuckles. Fear struck her muscles. She didn’t move, didn’t breathe, didn’t even blink. “Ben, am I going to die? What is this?” she said, trembling as the creature flapping its wings on her bare knuckle. It was blue. Very blue. And the blue was outlined in stark black.

The bastard had the nerve to chuckle at her misfortune. 

“It’s a butterfly.” 

He reached out with his finger—wow, his finger was huge—and brushed against her knuckle. The butterfly twitched and thankfully hopped off Rey’s hand, onto Ben’s massive finger. 

“They don’t harm you, they just like the scent of flowers.”

Rey dropped her red flower like it burned her palm. She pouted at his reaction with a burning face. How was she supposed to know that not everything in this jungle was trying to kill her?

Upon closer inspection, the butterfly was beautiful. Its wings were large and majestic and shimmered in the low light of day.

It flew off.

“Well, do you know where we’re going then?” Rey asked, cheeks still on fire from embarrassment.

“We follow the embankment until we reach the town.”

Two butterflies came back and landed on Ben’s shoulder.

Rey tilted her head. “The butterfly got friends.”

Ben rolled his eyes. “They’re strangely attracted to me for whatever reason…”

More and more butterflies landed on him. Rey had to stifle back a laugh at Ben’s pout. Karma was so delightful at times.

Kylo would withstand all the butterflies in the world to see Rey smile again. And again. For the rest of his life.

He internally shook his head. He was getting ahead of himself. Curse that impulsive love-struck Solo gene his idiotic father gave him. 

The two walked along the edge of the sea. Rey caught an eyeful of it from atop the ledge. 

Kylo really, really had the temptation to grab onto her like yesterday to make sure she didn’t fall. But Rey wanted to probably punch him in the nose instead, so he didn’t. He eyed her footsteps among the thick foliage of the cliffs.

The sea-side town was rather quaint, to put it lightly. It was small and made of structures that dated back to the Old Republic, before some sort of hostile takeover by the Empire. Luckily, Kylo’s mother managed to put a stop to the first test of the Death Star or else the very planet he ruled now would be nothing but empty space and crumbs of rocks. 

The first thing Kylo looked for was a clothing shop of some kind. Rey couldn’t walk around in his cape forever, no matter how appealing she looked in it. If he tugged the hood up over her head she would look like a graceful dark princess…

“Whoa, it’s so lovely,” Rey breathed. “I never thought I would see this much green in the jungle, but I wouldn’t have expected a town so cozy before either.”

Kylo glanced at her wondrous gaze. His heart clenched for her. Aching with an empty feeling in his soul. How could someone so cruel leave this sunshine behind for drinking money? If he had his way right now, he would have gone and sought revenge on them for doing this to her. 

Kylo didn’t even realize he was visibly upset at his own thoughts until Rey raised an eyebrow at him.

“Ben? You okay? You’re not going to lose your infamous temper, right?” she asked, her voice concerned but also… lighter. Lacking the spark of fire and displeasure she had towards him.

All the breath left his lungs. She’d called him Ben.

He hated that name very much. It symbolized everything he was expected to be all his life. But Rey saying it, he didn’t loathe it. 

“I’m fine,” he said, his voice strained. “Come.” He walked ahead, tugging at her cape and pulling her into the streets of the town.

Kylo knew no one would figure out he was Kylo Ren. Well, not very fast anyways. Rey was the one with the cape and the lightsaber and the Force. They would be fine. Perfectly fine. Nothing to worry about.

Except for one minor detail that smacked him in the face as he pulled Rey into a small clothing shop. He had no means to pay for clothes for her.

“Hello?” The shop clerk, a woman with the name tag Kaydel written on it, greeted the pair. “Can I help you?”

Kylo gently shoved Rey forward. “She needs something to wear.”

Kaydel raised an eyebrow. “How will you be paying?”

Kylo, not wanting to really deal with any dalliances, grabbed Rey by the wrist and lifted up her hand, holding his lightsaber. “When I can.”

Rey rolled her eyes.

“And I require the highest discretion.” 

Kaydel, like Rey, rolled her eyes. “Fine. Whatever, Your Highness, just don’t destroy my store.”

Kylo sat down on a couch, browsing a datapad,on the HoloNet. Articles of Snoke supposedly mourning the deep loss of Prince Kylo Ren of Alderaan were plastered front and center. 

If he only had the Force. Kylo would have marched right up to Snoke and sliced him in half for stealing his throne and poisoning him. He wasn’t sure if he would do the same to Hux, though. He was an accomplice in all this, not the criminal mastermind. Something more humiliating was more suitable for Hux.

Rey emerged from the dressing room, her hair fixed up from a tangled mess to half up, half down, but pulled back. Her only bun served to keep her long, loose hair out of her face. Her robes were simple. Grey. And since when did her lips get pinker? And her eyes stood out more than usual.

Kylo stood up suddenly, his eyes drinking in Rey’s cleaned up appearance. “You… Look good. I like your hair,” he half stuttered out, running his hand through his raven locks. 

Rey looked in the mirror. “Thank you.”

Kaydel leaned over to Kylo and whispered, “You’re welcome lover boy. I mean, Your Highness.”

Kylo didn’t mind the jab. Rey twisted to look at her back in the mirror. Her hair flowed down her neck in perfect waves.

This woman was going to be the utter death of him.

Leaving the clothing shop, Kylo clipped his cape back into place. Rey still had his lightsaber on her belt, which was fine.

Rey’s stomach growled. “Ugh, can we please get food now that you dressed me up like a doll?”

He snorted. “Right, because I was the one who dressed you up while Kaydel went nuts putting makeup on you and combing your hair.”

She huffed. “You used your status for your own gains. She was probably terrified of disobeying you or not meeting your impossible standards.”

“Just because I have high standards doesn’t mean they’re impossible.” Of course, he was lying. His standards would never be attainable when it came to Rey. She set the bar so high he felt out of his depth trying to reach it.

“I bet no woman would ever reach your standards,” she said, sticking her nose up in the air. “Now, please threaten someone to give us food?”

“Oh,  _ now _ it’s a good time to threaten someone with my lightsaber?”

She gave him a pointed glare. “Excuse you, I’m just learning to get over borderline starvation. I’m not about to go back now.”

Right. She needed food. He needed food. 

At the first restaurant he found that didn’t look like a total dumpster, he opened the door for her. “I need you to give me my lightsaber,” he whispered in her ear.

She sighed with an annoyed tone, reaching for her belt. “I swear, Kylo Ren, is this the only thing people associate you with?”

“Pretty much.”

“Not even your pretty face?” Her eyes widened at her words. 

He smirked. “Oh, I’m pretty now?”

“Kriff off, you bastard.”

She shoved the lightsaber into his hand, and he marched right up to the waiter. “Table for two, please. In a private section with no one around us.”

The waiter shrunk in his shoes at the sight of Kylo’s imposing presence. “Uh, sure. H-how will you be paying—”

Kylo held up his lightsaber just enough for the waiter to see. “Royal credit. I expect discretion or else you will get nothing instead.”

The waiter swallowed and nodded. “R-Right this way then, Your Hi—Sir.”

Kylo glanced back at Rey, who didn’t look amused. She snatched his lightsaber from his hand and clipped it back onto her belt as the pair were led to a room with no one around.

The waiter set water glasses on the table and walked away.

“So,” Kylo said, sitting across from Rey. Her pink lips were distracting to a fault. “Your next lesson, Rey, is simple. Convince our waiter to forget about us when we leave.”

Her eyes widened. “What?”

“You heard me.”

The silence was deafening. She stared at her water. “Is that how you will people into compliance? Besides your anger?”

His intense gaze was back. “I ask things of people; I don’t use the Force on them. Sometimes, however, in situations like this, the Force is immensely helpful. If word is to get out to Snoke, we lose the element of surprise. Plus,” he leaned forward to her face. “I don’t have the Force. You do.”

She tightened her lips. Oh, she was blushing again. “Fine then. How do you do it?”

“Let your instincts drive you. You must put your will onto the other person. Tell them what you want them to do.”

The waiter came back and took their orders. Rey looked at the poor man. He was lanky and clearly not as strong-willed as most. Kylo kept his eyes on Rey—admiring each twitch of her brow, the brief flash of teeth biting her lower lip. Once the waiter went away, Rey looked back at Kylo.

It would be so easy to just lean across the table…

“Will it hurt?” she questioned.

Kylo lifted his glass to his lips. “No. It’s not supposed to hurt. They won’t even feel it unless you’re attempting on another Force sensitive.”

She leaned on her hands. “Did you ever have to use it?”

“Many times, yes.”

Mostly on people trying to sell him spice when he made his rounds around the galaxy with Luke. Seeing hungry and desperate people on the streets in various planets solidified that. 

As much as he resented his parents, they did good work on Alderaan, taking care and actually giving a damn about its citizens.

The food came and Kylo got a wonderful view of Rey devouring it all with much gusto. She ordered a lot. It was endearing. She certainly wasn’t going to take this for granted. Why would she? Jakku wasn’t exactly a luxury resort. Which baffled him more and more as to why she wants to go back.

Rey looked up from her food and saw Kylo staring at her. 

“What?”

He took another sip of his water, trying to fight a half-smirk. 

“Nothing.”

When Rey finished eating—Kylo had his fill at least twenty minutes prior,  _ how did she eat so much? _ —he gestured at the waiter with a tilt of his head. 

“Go on,” he muttered to her.

Rey rolled her eyes and looked the waiter straight in the eye. “You will clean this table and forget that we were here.”

A pause. Kylo wondered if it even worked.

“I will clean this table and forget you were here.”

Kylo let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. Rey looked back at Kylo in awe and wonder and perhaps… joy?

He liked seeing her gain confidence in her power over the Force. He entertained for the moment when he got his powers back and showed her all of her full potential. The strange connection they had that evening two days prior, in particular, he wanted to learn more about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why did this get absurdly long lol. Why did I start writing this so seriously? Why are Rey and Ben such human emotional disasters?
> 
> Next chapter, moar Force lessons and then we storm the castle—er palace.


End file.
